Krogan
The Krogan are a species of large reptilian bipeds native to the planet Tuchanka, a world known for its harsh environments, scarce resources, and overabundance of vicious predators. The Krogan managed to not only survive on their unforgiving homeworld, but actually thrived in the extreme conditions. Unfortunately, as Krogan society became more technologically advanced, so did their weaponry. The end result is that they destroyed their homeworld in a nuclear war that reduced their race into primitive warring tribes. With the help of the Salarians, the Krogan were "uplifted" into galactic society, and lent their numbers and military prowess to bring an end to the Rachni Wars. Ironically, after the Rachni were eradicated, the rapidly-expanding Krogan became a threat to the galaxy in turn, starting the Krogan Rebellions and forcing the Turians to unleash the Genophage. This genetic "infection" dramatically reduced fertility in Krogan females, causing a severe drop in births secondary to prenatal and postnatal death and, ultimately, population, eliminating the Krogan numerical advantage. This was changed when the Genophage was cured during the war against the Reapers. Since then, the Krogan have been expanding again, albeit a bit more conservatively. Biology Due to the brutality of their surroundings, natural selection has played a significant role in the evolution of the Krogan. Unlike most sentient species, Krogan eyes are wide-set - on Earth, this is common among prey animals, and in this case it gives the Krogan 240-degree vision, giving them greater visual acuity and awareness of approaching predators. Krogan eyes have narrow pupils. Their irises may be red, green, amber, or blue in color. Prior to the Genophage, Krogan could reproduce and mature at an astonishing rate. Females are known to produce clutches of up to 1,000 fertilized eggs over the course of a year. Their large shoulder humps store fluids and nutrients, enabling them to survive extended periods without food or water. A bigger shoulder hump is seen as a sign of high status, showing how successful an individual Krogan is at hunting. Their thick hides are virtually impervious to cuts, scrapes or contusions, and they are highly resistant to environmental hazards, including toxins, radiation, and extreme heat and cold. Consequently their diets can include food and drink which would prove very dangerous to other species—a fact reflected in the Krogan liquor of choice, ryncol, which is said to "hit aliens like ground glass". Younger Krogan have yellow or green markings on their hides. These markings darken to brown or tan over time, showing their age. Krogan typically stand over 7 feet and weigh roughly one ton in armor. Biotic individuals are rare, though those who do possess the talent typically have strong abilities. The most amazing physiological feature of Krogan biology is the multiple instances of major organs. These secondary (and where applicable, tertiary) systems are capable of serving as back-ups in the event of damage to the primary biological structures. They have, for example, two hearts, four lungs, and four testicles. This reflects in their slang, where they often speak about a "quad" where a human would use the words "balls" or "pair". Krogan also have a secondary nervous system using a neuroconductive fluid, meaning they are almost impossible to paralyze. Krogan bleed a yellow or orange fluid when shot, which may be this fluid or actual blood. Aside from redundant systems, the legendary Krogan "blood rage" adds to the race's reputation for being notoriously difficult to kill or incapacitate in normal combat scenarios. In this state, Krogan become totally unresponsive to pain and will fight to the death regardless of injury level, with the side effect of reducing their capacity for logic and self-control. Sheer physical hardiness means an individual Krogan can expect to live for centuries. Krogan can live for well over a thousand years, as evidenced by Warlord Okeer, a veteran of the Krogan Rebellions who died (of decidedly unnatural causes) well over a thousand years after the Rebellions ended. Despite their natural propensity for toughness, Krogan do have physical weaknesses. If one lodges a knife at a certain spot near the frontal plate on a Krogan's head, the plate can be ripped off. It is apparently the one thing Krogan do fear. Culture The harsh Krogan homeworld conditioned the Krogan psychology for toughness just as it did the body. Krogan have always had a tendency to be selfish, unsympathetic, and blunt. Sometimes, when Krogan disagree, one of them will head-butt the other to show dominance. They respect strength and self-reliance and are neither surprised nor offended by treachery. According to Wrex, a Krogan's worst insult is to say, "Someone's not worth killing." The weak and selfless do not live long. In their culture, "looking out for number one" is simply a matter of course. Krogan have powerful territorial instincts which serve them well in combat, but can create problems; when traveling on starships, for example, Krogan find sharing quarters nearly impossible. Most Krogan trust and serve no one but themselves. This solitary attitude stems in part from a deep sense of fatalism and futility, a profound social effect of the genophage that caused Krogan numbers to dwindle to a relative handful. Not only are they angry that the entire galaxy seems out to get them, the Krogan are also generally pessimistic about their race's chances of survival. The surviving Krogan see no point to building for the future; there will be no future. The Krogan live with a generally violent and short-sighted attitude of personal gain. Female Krogan rarely leave their home worlds, focusing on breeding in an attempt to keep Krogan numbers from declining too quickly. The few remaining fertile females who can carry young to term are treated as prizes of war, to be seized, bartered or fought over. Recently, it has been noted that the females of the Krogan species live in clans separate from that of the males. Envoys are sent out from the female clans to determine who amongst the males is worthy to visit the female clans. Due to the effects of the genophage and the lack of fertile females, this happens often and many male Krogan sire children from one female. Krogan females also appear much more level-headed than males; 'the brains to their brawn,' so to speak. Krogan children are raised within the females' camps. On occasion the females send them over to the males for training. If a male wishes to claim his offspring, he can request the right of parentage. According to Bakara, however, Krogan do not name their infants very well: the males get drunk on sovak juice and have belching contests. Whatever happens to sound like a word becomes a name. Marks of the Krogan psyche past and present can be observed in their architecture and infrastructure. Ancient Krogan built towering pyramidal edifices, gigantic monuments and cities, complete with interior paintings of what could be called art. Millennia later, the ruins haven't yet lost to the ravages of time and survived to remind the latter-day Krogan of their glory days, although places like the "city of the ancients" were long-abandoned by then. Every Krogan building is built huge and to last. At the present day, even hospitals are built strong enough to withstand a bunch of Krogan undergoing blood rage. Blocky ruins litter Tuchanka's surface, a portion of them still livable by Krogan standards. Religion Krogan are not shown to have strong religious beliefs. The closest they come is to establish ritualistic burial grounds called the Hollows, where the skulls of their ancestors are displayed to remind them of "where we all come from, and where we all go." The Hollows are as sacred as any Krogan place can be, and violence there is forbidden. Ancient krogan deities include Vaul, a god who stood watch for the enemies of his pantheon. The planet Vaul is named for this god, and its moons are named for Vaul's myriad eyes and ears. Krogan are also shown to believe in some form of afterlife. Several Krogan mention a place called "the Void" which Krogan go to when they die. Additionally, the planet Kruban takes its name from a mythological paradise in which honorable Krogan warriors feast on the internal organs of their enemies. Language Little is known about krogan language except for a few non-translatable terms. Some terms are specific to certain Krogan clans, such as "Aralakh", which was taken from Clan Raik. Known Krogan words are listed below. *Aralakh - "Eye of Wrath" *Korbal - roughly, "victory or death" *Krantt - a warrior's most trusted allies *Ruzad - "judge" Krogan names are composed of two parts, a clan name followed by a given name. At birth, Krogan are identified by their given name only. A clan name is bestowed after Krogan complete the rite of passage of the clan they wish to join. Clans Krogan are divided into numerous clans. Membership in a clan allows a Krogan to own property, join the army and apply to serve under a battlemaster. Young Krogan undergo a rite of passage that is overseen by a shaman respective to the clan the Krogan wishes to join. As an example, in Clan Urdnot, this rite consists of battling various wild fauna on Tuchanka, ending with an encounter with a thresher maw. Merely surviving for five minutes is considered proof of worthiness, but killing the thresher maw increases the initiate's prestige and standing. Few outsiders have seen a rite of passage take place, even though there are no rules in Krogan tradition that state that a non-Krogan can't help with the undertaking of the rite by acting as the participant's krantt. The rite of passage and all other rites and traditions are preserved by the clan shaman. The shaman must undergo lengthy and torturous rites to assume the position, and is required to give up his name. Because of this level of commitment, the shaman is one of the most respected members of a clan. Military Traditional Krogan tactics were built on attritional mass-unit warfare. Equipped with cheap, rugged gear, troop formations were powerful but inflexible. Command and control was very centralized; soldiers in the field who saw a target contacted their commanders behind the lines to arrange fire support. The Battle Masters are a match for any ten soldiers of another species. To a Battle Master, killing is a science. They focus on developing clean, brute-force economy of motion that exploits their brutal strength to incapacitate enemies with a swift single blow of overwhelming power. Battle Masters are not "spit and polish," but they do believe in being well-armed and equipped, preferably with a gun for each limb. They are brutal, but disciplined. Biotics are rare among the Krogan, especially since the practice of surgically creating Krogan biotics has been discontinued. Those that exist are viewed with suspicion and fear. The Krogan see this aura of fear as a useful quality for an officer, and often promote them. Combat drones and other high-tech equipment are likewise in short supply. Krogan military doctrine has a different take on what "scouting and reconnaissance" means. While other races' scouts prefer stealth and discretion in carrying out their tasks, Krogan scouts instead opt to deal psychological warfare when they find the enemy by way of occasional harassment or intentionally exaggerating their numbers. The reasoning is that it is a lot easier to count enemy numbers when some of them get blown up. Weapons developed by the Krogan include the Graal Spike Thrower shotgun and Striker Assault Rifle. The Graal was designed specifically for hunting thresher maws, and so has predictably grisly effects when used on humanoid targets. The Striker is a fully-automatic weapon that fires high-impact explosive slugs with high recoil, making it a difficult weapon for non-Krogan to keep on target despite it being designed with them in mind. The Krogan possess a powerful fleet that included many dreadnoughts. Relics of the Krogan Rebellions, such as formerly-defunct long range ground-to-space anti-ship batteries that dot Tuchanka's surface, serve as monuments to the Krogan's past glory and military might, and now once more have more practical value.